Power was restored to all homes in Arviat, Nunavut, on Saturday afternoon after days-long outages left some residents without heat and electricity for up to four days.
According to an update from Qulliq Energy Corporation, Nunavut’s power corporation, power was restored to all homes in Arviat at 3:30 p.m. CT, with the exception of the local middle school, where crews are still working on getting electricity back up and running.
Power outages in Arviat started on Tuesday, when a huge blizzard tore through Nunavut’s western Kivalliq Region. In Arviat, Environment Canada meteorologist Samantha Mauti told CBC that winds during the blizzard reached up to 119 km/h on Tuesday, a record for the community for November.
The hamlet of Arviat declared a state of emergency in response to ongoing power outages on Friday evening, according to the hamlet’s mayor Joe Savikataaq Jr.
As of Saturday morning, 53 homes in the 2,800-person community were still without power, according to local housing corporation employee Daniel Alagalak.
Arviat Mayor Savikataaq told CBC News that some people in the community were using Coleman stoves to heat their homes, and several residents have had water pipes burst because of the cold.
Qulliq Energy Corporation, which supplies power to the region, told CBC on Friday it was having difficulties getting repair crews into the community because of cancelled flights.
